30 December 2012

Cuban Interiors

Cuba was everything I hoped it would be. Evocative, creative and real. It's just what they do. Old, repaired, cared for and cherished, nothing thrown away, battered and worn. Gentle and Beautiful and Bright

A bar, musicians resting, Antibes Green on the lower part of the wall

and Old Ochre lightened with Old White above the green.

A bookshop- it was almost like a theatre set but it was real, I think.

A surprising mix of zebra skin and a chandelier with piles of old books, lots of pictures and pampas grass. The pink on the walls of this restaurant is like Antoinette but I'd never have thought to put yellow with it.

Same restaurant with an extraordinary bright luminous blue on the walls . I'd like to try this using Provence and Old White mix in one room with lightened Louis Blue in an other so they can be seen together. These two colours are the same tone but very different in character so they are slightly uneasy with each other which gives it an exotic Cuban feel.

Hanging pictures is so difficult but this is done brilliantly. It's a broken grid with wonderful colour on the wall and in the cloth and the pictures. Antoinette

Antibes

These are the colours I will try to recreate these rooms with. I have plans.

This is my kind of decorating! Love the old, worldly, eclectic look. The color combo's are quite unusual, but you're right - it all works! So rich and interesting. MaK is back from Hawaii and we are moving into our own store! Definitely want some of this look going on! Thanks for sharing! And look forward to your "plans"!

How fabulous you have your own store! Congrats. Don't forget to send me the new address. You girls are going to soar. You already use great edgy colour combos so I look forward to 2013 with you. xx Annie

Great Annie!! This will surely help me get my new "old 60s house" into the right vibe and funk. Love Antoinette pared with dark woods...not so frilly. and the pop of blue over the OO/Antibes walls. Fun. Thanks!

I love colour so much so bring on Cuba!I like the picture of the blue room,i painted a table drawer in your chalk paint duck egg blue and the legs in Florence it looks amazing together and isn't the last picture just fabulous? so great how all the pictures are displayed and pink and green just like my table and mirror in my hall,hope you have more pictures to share x

i've longed to visit cuba for decades now. being an american it hasn't been so easy. but, oh, annie, thank you so much for the photos and wonderful colors. i love the restaurant and the gallery of artwork-my style completely!

Hello Annie, What a fun post...the rooms are wonderful and original and just plain creative! I have always loved pale pink and orange together (Antoinette/Arles) was I not supposed to???? So happy that you enjoyed and were creatively inspired by your trip. How wonderful to share it with your whole family!!! Looking forward to seeing you again in New Orleans...be well Annie!

My name is Trudy. I moved from Holland to Hungary same years ago. Restaurating an old historical building including the decoration of it.Yesterday I found you're paint experiance on the internet. Love what you can do with it.There is only one problem, I can not buy it in Hungary.........Vienna is also an option, But you also can not buy it over there.I would like to try out you,re products

We would love a stockist in Austria and one in Hungary too. Actually today I bought a beautiful Hungarian Jug with stripes on it. I love these traditional jugsIf you want to try the paint I think the best you can do is order it from Germany or perhaps Poland. Sorry but that's the best I can do xxAnnie

Hello Annie, this was a great page for me, as I lived in Mexico for several years and relate to fabulous color. We still regret not visiting Cuba, but the color vibe is still with us from Mexico and Guatemala.Fixing up is what we like to do, but sometimes I have to make concessions - I get to use ASCP on any furniture I want to change!! Husband gets to bash out a wall, and have 50% imput on wall color! Fair, no? My den and dining room have walls filled such as those in the restaurant shown here, and we love that! I have been going in too many directions to choose a color, but think now that Antibes will be great on a large piece in the adobe dining room, and Napoleonic blue interior on an Old White hutch.Yum, can't wait to get started, so much to do!!

Hi, Your paints are a wonderful new discovery for me!Just a question about the wax---- I am wondering, if i whether wax some wooden platters would they be safe to eat off and could i wash them (sponge them down) ?

I am the maker of a unique decorative paint called Chalk Paint®, which I first developed in 1990. I named the paint Chalk Paint® because of its chalky feel, look and absorbency.
I would love you to enjoy colour as much as I do.
I have written over 25 books on paint and colour so this blog is about paint, painting furniture, mixing colours and combining colours.